Announcements

FROM: Wellness Services RE: St. Patrick's Day Safety
Sent:
3/17/2023 8:12:13 AM
To: Students, Faculty, Staff

Binge drinking presents its own set of dangerous risks, and on St. Patrick’s Day, these can rise to larger numbers. Some sobering statistics on St. Patrick’s Day in the United States and binge drinking include:
* Every 46 minutes, an alcohol-related accident claims a life on St. Patrick’s Day
* Approximately 276 people die in drunk driving accidents on St. Patrick’s weekend
* 75% of fatal car crashes involve a driver two times over the legal drinking limit



 

Here is some information to help you avoid alcohol-related unintentional injury during St. Patrick's day:

Medical Amnesty is an act that enables protection from liability to those who seek medical attention as a result of an excessive use of alcohol or other substances. This act has been established to help protect college students from serious consequences, such as death, related to excessive use of alcohol and other drugs.

Did you know Pennsylvania law provides for Medical Amnesty for a person calling for medical help on behalf of another?

PennWest provides Medical Amnesty to students seeking assistance for themselves or others when overconsumption of alcohol and/or drug overdose are perceived to be possibly lifethreatening. In order for a student to receive medical amnesty, the student seeking assistance must:

1. Call 911, Police, Emergency Services, or another University Authority based on reasonable belief that someone, including themselves, needs immediate medical assistance;

2. Reasonably believe that they were the first person to make the 911 call or call to Police, Emergency Services, or another University Authority and reported that a person needed immediate medical assistance;

3. Provide their own name; and,

4. Remain with the person needing medical assistance until emergency personnel have arrived to treat the person needing medical assistance.

The Dean of Students Office reserves the right to extend amnesty to not just the caller and/or person needing medical assistance due to the overconsumption of alcohol and/or a drug overdose but also to others staying with the individual to assist until the time when emergency personnel begin working with the person needing medical assistance.

Please review the Pennwest Medical Amnesty Policy below.

https://files.pennwest.edu/policies/medical-amnesty.pdf

 

 

 

For more information or to find support for problematic drinking/drug use, please contact Rachel Michaels at studentwellness-cal@pennwest.edu